View full sizeMacKenzie Burger | The Bay City TimesJim Toth, truck driver, unloads chain that will be used to moor the USS Edson. The chain is from Brownsville Texas and arrived at the Independence Park Boat Launch on Tuesday morning.

BANGOR TOWNSHIP, MI — More than six thousand feet of chain, weighing about 38,000 lbs, arrived at the Independence Park Boat Launch this morning.

The load is only part of the entire chain needed for the USS Edson's mooring plan.

"There's seven shot of chain here, and each shot is 90 feet," said Saginaw Valley Naval Ship Museum President Mike Kegley. "We need 12 shot total to secure the ship."

Kegley said that the mooring plan includes four lines that connect the ship to the ground. Two lines to secure the ship will be in the water.

Tom Winters, retired Navy Gunnner's Mate Chief, has been involved in the process to bring a navy ship to the area since efforts started in 1997. Winters was responsible for locating the chain and making sure that it met engineering standards.

"We never thought it would take 14 years," Winters said. "I remember we thought it might take four years, at the most."

Kegley said that the chain came from Esco Marine Inc. — a scrap company for Naval vessels in Brownsville, Texas. It cost 27 cents per pound, with a total cost of $12,420 for the load.

Another truckload of chain is also coming from Esco Marine. Due to weight limitations, the total supply had to be separated into several trips.

"The chain isn't new," Winters said. "It probably came from an oil or supply ship — brand new would have cost us $5,000 per shot."